Home » Side Dish Recipes » Sweet Cornbread (+Video)

Sweet Cornbread (+Video)

This homemade Sweet Cornbread is simple and made with real honey. Bake it up in a cast iron skillet or baking pan. Moist and sweet!

A DELICIOUS HOMEMADE CORNBREAD RECIPE

Since first publishing this recipe on the site in January 2011, I have received a lot of feedback! Basically, folks either love sweet cornbread or they don’t. There seems to be no in between. However, I love ALL versions of cornbread: sweet, savory and everything in between! This delicious dish combines the comforting taste of classic cornbread with just the right amount of honey and sugar to create a perfectly balanced flavor. Whether you’re serving it as a side dish or even indulging in it as a dessert, sweet cornbread is a recipe everyone will love!

Cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet with a pie spatula scooping out a serving of cornbread.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is a Johnny Cake?

Some Northern folks might refer to sweet cornbread as Johnny Cake or Sweet Corn Cake. it’s all the same thing but folks just call it different things depending on where they’re from.

Can I use honey instead of sugar?

In this recipe, I use both to give it a good depth of flavor along with moistness. But you could certainly use all honey instead of sugar.

How do you make cornbread moist?

This sweet cornbread is already very moist. However, if you want it even more tender, try adding a smidgen of sour cream or buttermilk to the batter.

What should I serve with this cornbread recipe?

This particular recipe can be served a couple of different ways. You can serve it with traditional meals like like chili, barbecue, or fried chicken. But because it is sweet (but not super sweet) you can also be serve as a dessert with toppings like honey, sweet cinnamon butter or sweetened strawberries and whipped cream!

How long does this last?

Sweet cornbread will last for 2-3 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. It can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

I don’t like sweet cornbread, I want savory, how do I do that?

I have a recipe for a more traditional, savory Southern Cornbread made in a cast iron skillet that is perfect to serve with some Appalachian soup beans (my favorite!)

Sweet Southern Cornbread (Corn Cake) recipe from The Country Cook. Slice shown on a plate with butter and honey on top.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

  • honey
  • egg
  • butter
  • milk
  • water
  • sugar
  • yellow corn meal
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
honey, egg, butter, milk, water, sugar, yellow corn meal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET CORNBREAD:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together all your wet ingredients: honey, egg, butter, milk and water.

egg, honey, water, butter, milk in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine all your dry ingredients: sugar, corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt. Give it a stir with a whisk or a fork to combine. While whisking, slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet until all combined. Batter may be a little lumpy, that’s okay.

dry ingredients mixed together with wet ingredients in a bowl to creat cornbread batter.

Pour mixture into greased baking dish.

cornbread batter in a cast iron skillet.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until set in the middle and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Note: depending on the size of baking dish you use will depend on how long this takes to cook.

slice of cornbread on a white plate in front of cast iron skillet.

My favorite way to eat it is with a big pat of butter and drizzled with honey!

skillet cornbread, topped with butter and drizzled with real honey.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: January 2011
Recipe updated & republished: January 2019

The Best Sweet Southern Cornbread

Sweet Cornbread (+Video)

This homemade Sweet Cornbread is simple and made with real honey. Bake it up in a cast iron skillet or baking pan. Moist and sweet!
4.30 from 17 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons honey, 1 large egg, 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted, ½ cup milk and ½ cup water until fully combined.
  • In a separate bowl, combine ½ cup sugar 1 cup yellow corn meal, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tablespoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Give it a gentle stir with a fork to combine.
  • While whisking, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until all combined.
  • Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
  • Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until set in the middle and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Note: depending on the size of baking dish you use will depend on how long this takes to cook.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

Measuring sticky honey tip: Here’s a tip for getting the honey out of your measuring spoon. Spray the spoon with nonstick spray first. Then pour in honey, this will help keep the honey from sticking.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 216mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




15 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve been making your recipe for years, my son will eat the entire thing himself if I let him! Very delicious, thank you for sharing!

  2. 5 stars
    This is a super easy recipe and came out light, moist, and delicious! I used a cast iron skillet and it all came together beautifully.

  3. 5 stars
    Delicious corn bread! It will be part of the family recipes. I did the recipe without modifying it. Thanks much!!

  4. 5 stars
    Born and raised in Fl, now living in Tenn. Cornbread is for sure a staple here in Tn. Mainly we butter it and smother it in pinto beans or any bean you like. Or as you do I love to butter it and pour honey over as a dessert. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Another cornbread I make is 1C of cornmeal mix to 2C of boiling water. (You can up that to 2C cornmeal, 4 cups boiling water) depending on mouths to feed. Mix carefully as it’s hot. You can let it cool a little to where you can handle it and make patties or drop it by the spoonfuls into a hot skillet of oil Heat skillet with enough oil to fry the cornmeal patties. Fry till golden on both sides. These are good with beans over them. They soak up the bean juice really good. And of course, both kinds of cornbread need onion chopped up on top. That’s how Southerners eat cornbread. Oh and sweet tea!

  5. I enjoy reading your recipes and think one day I will make some of them. However, sugar is considered a wet ingredient not a dry one. I have noticed several bloggers making that mistake. Just thought I would point that out so you can make the correction. I will continue enjoying your blog.

    1. It’s a dry ingredient. It is only considered “wet” in certain techniques when you’re combining it with other actual wet ingredients as opposed to adding it to the dry ingredients

  6. I used to be in the not sweet camp for cornbread. As far as ice tea it has to be sweet for me. But can I ask, is there a reason for both water and milk in this recipe? I usually see just milk or buttermilk. So anyway, I’ve been adding sugar to my cornbread lately as well as upping the ratio of flour to cornmeal. We all really like it that way! And I’m going to have to try your recipe.

      1. 5 stars
        Hi lovely lady is corn meal critical in this recipe? What can I replace it with as we don’t have it here in South Africa